Saudi Ministry of Education to showcase innovations at 2025 Geneva International Exhibition    7,523 violators of residency, labor, and border security laws deported in a week    Video contradicts Israeli army account of deadly March 23 strike on Gaza paramedics    Saudi Arabia spends over $241 million to implement de-mining projects in 3 countries    Italy's Meloni government approves controversial security decree expanding police protections and penalties    Egypt submits new Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal: Report    'Everything is possible' — Ronaldo focused on titles, not 1,000-goal milestone after Riyadh Derby win    Saudi, US military leaders discuss enhanced defense cooperation in Riyadh    King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language launches program with Indiana University    Ronaldo brace powers Al Nassr past Al Hilal in Riyadh derby thriller    Ed Sheeran weaves Persian music into new song, Azizam    Al-Jadaan: Crown Prince's directives confirm government's ability to bring back balance to real estate market    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Tribalism still lingers for some
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 26 - 01 - 2012

The gentle clicking of Sheikh Abu Samir's prayer beads as he lounged against a bolster in his camel-hair tent evoked the wilderness of Saudi Arabia's desert, not a dusty camel market beside a Riyadh motorway.
The Kingdom's Bedouin might have forsaken a desert lifestyle that brought more hardship than riches, but their tribal identity retains a lingering influence in modern Saudi life and one that some Saudis believe may be enjoying a revival.
“(Tribal feeling) is growing,” said Saad Al-Sowayan, a Saudi anthropologist who specializes in Bedouin oral history.
While experts debate whether that is true and why, the authorities, whose success in building a modern state was in part dependent on settling the Bedouin and ending centuries of infighting, have shown themselves concerned enough to take steps to curb any resurgence of tribalism.
The government two years ago closed a television station after it broadcast poems glorifying tribal rivalry, according to local media.
“The tribes are still strong,” said Abu Samir, a chief in the Otaiba tribe, as he drank tiny thimbles of Arabic coffee with companions in a tent among the pungent animal pens of the camel market. “But the olden days were better.”
“You cannot expect tribalism to disappear over one, two or three decades. It takes longer than that,” said Khalid Al-Dakhil, a political scientist in Riyadh.
Continued influence
Tribal influence registers in subtle ways, and is often most obviously manifested when tribal members have a problem with the authorities.
Because their positions depend on their level of popular support, tribal chiefs will often work as hard as possible to mediate on behalf of their tribesmen.
“His power comes from showing he has lots of constituents, so he will help people to get into hospital or get a business deal because it will help boost his position with the government,” Sowayan said.
Tribal leaders have boasted of their ability to secure more lenient sentences for fellow tribesmen who fall foul of the law, while members of bigger clans have a better chance of escaping the death penalty because there are greater resources to fund blood money payments to victims' families.
Tribalism also has an important bearing on social relations, even extending to who can wed whom.
Many Saudis were outraged in 2007 when a judge annulled an apparently happy marriage after two years because the wife's brother did not want to be associated with her husband's lowly tribe. Such influence comes at a cost, however.
“What is clear at this point is that the role and influence of the tribal leadership has declined significantly. They can maybe help some relatives to get a job, they can maybe use their connections to minimize legal sentences against one of their relatives, but they will have to pay for it,” said Dakhil.
Bedouin roots
Although Saudi Arabia now celebrates its Bedouin roots with televised camel beauty contests and sword dancing, only a handful of semi-nomads remain in the country's northern deserts where they scratch a living ranching sheep.
“Nomadism as an economic structure is gone... People came to the city for government services and bank loans. The desert is overgrazed and the game is overhunted... Now you can hardly find gazelle,” said Sowayan.
As the tribes settled, their military strength evaporated and with it the political might that they once wielded across the Arabian Peninsula.
However, as Sowayan points out, the tribes can still provide a bridge between some ordinary Saudis and the authorities. — Reuters __


Clic here to read the story from its source.